


Helenium

by pantherophis



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Genre: Abuse, Drowning, M/M, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 14:33:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2511182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pantherophis/pseuds/pantherophis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teaching others about his gender identity isn't his responsibility, but Sheffield is kind enough to do it anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Helenium

**Author's Note:**

> [ _Helenium_ : "tears". warning for blood, emetophobia, misgendering. i should mention that the trans character isn't the one being abused.]

Heat O’Brien has never met anyone quite like Serph Sheffield, in every way he can think of. His hips curve and his shape is lithe, his tongue drips venom, his eyes shine with vicious intelligence. Sometimes, in tricks of the light, Heat thinks he sees a soft curve in his chest, or an unusually deep dip in his waist. Some of Sheffield's mannerisms are feminine – the crossed legs, the dainty way he holds his hands as he speaks with a soft voice that flows like honey – but nobody refers to him as anything other than male, including Serph himself. Heat never has any suspicions.

When they live together, there’s no evidence left behind. Sheffield’s irritation in the second half of the month doesn’t seem unusual to Heat, as he’s already somewhat unpleasant. There’s no wrapping paper, no stains. It’s not that Sheffield is ashamed of it; he’s just a clean man, and he abhors the scent of blood that’s not spilled from a wound. And honestly, he thinks, Heat is too stupid to notice.

On the morning it happens, Heat's bladder is too full to knock. He pushes the door in to a half-dressed Sheffield, topless with a black pair of briefs that cling to damp skin. From behind he sees the swell of his breasts, but in the mirror he sees the full display of Sheffield’s chest and his own mouth hanging open in shock. Sheffield’s eyes flicker slowly to meet his in the mirror. He is unperturbed. 

“O’Brien.” His voice cool, as it usually is. He continues to brush his hair. “Good morning.”

Everything Heat thinks about Sheffield is flipped upside down. That is his first mistake.

“Serph,” he nods in greeting, voice stumbling with a crack. His eyes soften; his voice comes out gentler than it usually does when speaking with him. That is his second mistake. The third mistake slips out as an attempt to be casual, “All this time living together and I never knew you were a woman.”

The first time Heat misgenders him is the last.

Sheffield turns on him faster than he can blink, fisting the front of his shirt – _the proper way to administer positive punishment is immediately upon or during the undesired behaviour_ – and slams his face against the sink. The sharp edges of the tap dig into his cheek; his nose makes a sickening crunch against the cold porcelain. Before he can sputter any words, Sheffield grabs a fistful of his hair and yanks him up before smashing his face into it again.

Heat manages a choked, congested cry of “Serph” through a bloody mouth and nose. Sheffield smiles because O’Brien is disgusting. The pain looks good on him.

He isn’t afraid of Heat fighting back – Sheffield is stronger than he looks and O’Brien is too shaken, overwhelmed by his inability to process more than two thoughts at once, Sheffield thinks with a mental roll of his eyes while yanking him backwards off the sink. He watches O’Brien’s yellow eyes flash with fear in the seconds before throwing his upper body into the lukewarm bath water.

_The positive punishment inflicted must be severe enough for it to have lasting effects._ Sheffield sits on O’Brien’s hunched over back as he gurgles uselessly, head completely submerged, and fists a wet clump of blonde hair. _If the subject does not understand the connection between the behaviour and the punishment, he may continue to perform the undesired behaviour._ He pushes O’Brien’s head down with a sigh, wiping stray water droplets from his bare chest. As the man beneath starts flailing and heaving, Sheffield rips his head above water for a moment and tilts his face backwards. O’Brien sputters and chokes, fearful eyes bloodshot and brimming with tears. Blood is smeared around his face, diluted from the water, and the bruises under his skin glimmer beautifully.

“I didn’t mean it,” Heat almost shouts, words slippery through his swollen lips. 

Sheffield shakes his head gently. “Oh, but you did.” Heat’s eyes widen as the words slither from Sheffield’s smiling mouth. “And if you were half the man I am, you would accept the consequences of your actions.” 

As O’Brien sucks in a desperate breath to reply, Sheffield dunks him underwater again. He straddles Heat’s back higher, feeling the plates of his writhing shoulder blades shift, shiver, with every attempted breath and scream refusing to sound. Heat’s frantic movements grind against his sensitive spot, and Sheffield almost barks a laugh at the irony. The pleasure builds up in his lower half but Sheffield knows watching O’Brien struggle for his life turns him on more than his touch ever could.

He yanks his head from the water in time to hear a pathetically high-pitched sob before thrusting him under again. At some point Heat pissed himself – Sheffield can smell the sour acrid scent of his urine. His nose also catches the notes of blood still smeared on the sink, and his own musky scent of arousal.

Sheffield cums against O’Brien’s back to some choking cries of _“Serph”_ or _“stop”_ or whatever he’s gurgling under the water. He releases him immediately after the shockwaves of pleasure pass. O’Brien gasps for air, slipping frantically out of the tub and hitting his head against the toilet. Water and blood sputter out of his mouth and he vomits onto the floor with a trembling heave of his shoulders.

Sheffield finishes brushing his hair and puts his binder on as O’Brien passes out for a few moments. When he sees him stir from the corner of his eye, Sheffield says, “Clean that and the blood in the sink.”

He steps over O’Brien’s shaking legs sprawled over the ground and adds with a smile, “I’ll see you at work.”

The word never comes out of Heat's mouth again.


End file.
